It was tough to check out of Las Vegas when we had just arrived less than twelve hours prior. But I had to take solace in knowing that we had a full day and night there anyway. We took the morning fairly lazily. We knew we had to check out by 11:00 am, but after hiking about 6 miles, it was only proper to get as much rest as possible. We both ended up waking up around 8:30, which under normal circumstances is odd, but considering that we were in the Pacific time zone for once, it was not unusual at all. We took our time getting ready and packing up, especially since we knew it was our last time being in a hotel.

After checking-out we went off to the Flamingo habitat in the hotel. It was very nice and it was interesting to see some of the animals. It was nice because last night when we arrive in Vegas, there was a brisk wind that made it a bit cooler than desired. But that day, the sun was out, there was no wind and it was nice in the 60s. Finally, we got a nice day and it was the last one out west

Then we headed off on the monorail. We were all excited about the monorail. We've both been on monorails before, but, I think somewhere driving out near Mexican Water, AZ we both got bored and we started singing the monorail song on The Simpsons. And from that point onward, we both couldn't get it out of our heads.

[crowd chants `Monorail' softly and rhythmically]Miss Hoover: I hear those things are awfully loud...Lyle Lanley: It glides as softly as a cloud.Apu: Is there a chance the track could bend?Lyle Lanley: Not on your life, my Hindu friend.Barney: What about us brain-dead slobs?Lyle Lanley: You'll be given cushy jobs.Abe: Were you sent here by the devil?Lyle Lanley: No, good sir, I'm on the level.Wiggum: The ring came off my pudding can.Lyle Lanley: Take my pen knife, my good man.I swear it's Springfield's only choice...Throw up your hands and raise your voice!All: Monorail!Lyle Lanley: What's it called?All: Monorail!Lyle Lanley: Once again...All: Monorail!Marge: But Main Street's still all cracked and broken...Bart: Sorry, Mom, the mob has spoken!

So our next thing to do was to ride the monorail. We had no specific destination, but we knew that we just had to ride the thing and we knew that it hit most destinations in all of commercial Las Vegas. So we went in and saw the prices, which were actually really high. Considering the prices for most public transport, the monorail was a lot. We were just going to head off to the Venetian, but Randy had been wanting to go to the Stratosphere elevator and such, so we ended up going there instead. It would have been a pity to take the monorail just to go to the other side of the strip if we really wanted to go to the Stratosphere.

Along the way we met up with a lot of people who happened to be going onward to the Convention Center. And once they all left, the train was pretty empty. And then we got out at the Sahara casino. That's where Speed the Ride was. When I found that out, it was pretty obvious that's what we were doing next. There was no one on the ride. I blame that on the weather. To us it was nice, but to the locals, they were wearing parkas and couldn't imagine going on the ride in such cold

. It was a fun ride. Probably not worth the money, but then again everything in Vegas is overpriced, so it was still its value in Vegas inflation rates. Then we headed off to the Stratosphere.

The Stratosphere itself is a decent casino. I think it's better than the Sahara, but the location is just horrendous. It's just so far north on the strip away from all the other good casinos. It smelled like a mix of orange cleaner and incense. And then we got to the shops inside. They looked like a local mall. At least in the sense of Granite Run in Philadelphia area or maybe Har-Mar in the Twin Cities area. You know, the ones that have the air-brush t-shirt shop and the kiosks with crazy fake license plates and such. It really wasn't the best of Vegas, but it wasn't the worst. We had to buy tickets or eat lunch up top at the Stratosphere in order to ride the crazy elevator. And we had no appetite for either.

So we passed by the ghetto North strip with its sketchy IHOPs and Fun City motel and "Largest Souvenir Shop in Las Vegas" back to the monorail.